The dragons Laud

"Sonja." My voice growls deeply.

"Look! I didn't go get those books! They were placed outside my cell when I was sleeping one night." She explains rapidly.

She lies to Kem to keep him from worrying. Why wouldn't she do the same to me?

Small flames start to flick from my bare chest, shoulders and arms. My gut is turning with anger. That feeling creeps from my gut to my arm and turns into a desire to punch something. I turn to the closest tree releasing my frustration on it. The sapling splinters and the pieces catch fire.

"Look me in the eye and say that." My voice is still low. Her eyes are larger than normal as she looks back to me.

"Ragon." Her voice is shaky. "I did not go get these books. They were placed by my cell. I swear on Maddie's life that I did not get them from that room."

"Why is your voice shaky?" I demand.

"Ragon you're scaring me." Sonja's voice is quiet but it hits me harder than Sheldon's tail.

An ache in my chest tightens around my rapidly beating heart. The flames on my body are extinguished. "I-I'm so sorry." I say clenching my chest with my free hand.

"The flux in your emotions do go hand in hand with the dragon's laud. You do have a temperamental dragon inside you after all. At least for now." Sonja says gently.

"What do you mean for now?" I ask confused.

"As we found out laud means blessing so Blaze blessed you with his powers. Yet it's a double edge sword. He gave you himself but he can't live in you forever. Soon he will be gone." Sonja explains.

"Where does he go?" I ask concerned for my friend.

"The books more or less say he dies once his powers are fully transferred over." Sonja's says sadly.

The shock that Blaze will be gone hits hard. Dropping me to my knees, I close my eyes. My emotions are running rampant inside of me as my mind races with this new info. I hear the muffled voice of Sonja.

Crack!

I hear a tree limb from above me snap off. As I open my eyes I see the branch land in front of me engulfed in flames. Sparks fly up as the embers scatter on the ash covered forest floor. I look around to see I'm unharmed in the middle of a large fire. The glass orb in my hand is melted and deformed. Sonja is no longer visible inside it. The roar if the fire is deafening to my sensitive ears. I think I hear the others though, maybe? I stand to look around trying to figure out from where I might have heard them.

Alright kid. You done messed up. Now stop panicking so I don't have to use so much magic.

"Blaze?" I call out. 

Who else could it be?! Now calm your heart and breathing!

I sit down again taking deep breathes. My mind is racing on the thoughts of Blaze being gone so its hard to concentrate.

It's alright kid. Breath. We can talk later. Just breath right now.

I take a choked breath holding back my tears now that grief was starting to set in.

Oh don't you even think about crying at a time like this. Come on now deep breathes! Your friends can't fight this fire alone.

My friends.

My breathing starts to smooth out with just a few random hic ups.

Alright now that I don't have to use so much magic. I need you to picture pulling all the fire around you into yourself.

Pulling?

Yes. You can feel all the flames and their energy around you right?

I concentrate on the fire around me. I have felt hints of energy from other fires and hot objects but with it at this scale, its easy to feel the hungry fire.

I feel it.

Good. When you breath in imagine grabbing all the fire around you with that air. Then when you breath out pull that fire in towards you.

I do as he said. After awhile of breathing in and out, I could feel the fire breathing with me. Randomly I feel a patch off to the right disappear or being choked off. A much larger patch is being choked off down wind of the fire. Eventually with every breath the fire started to feel smaller and smaller.

This is amazing. I can feel the fire's power inside of me now.

This is why you found me on that mountain. You going to be less chicken and take my advise about a lava bath instead of your sunbaths now?

He chuckles his deep laugh. I feel a smile tugging on my lips. My heart and face sink when the thought of him leaving hits again.

"Blaze? Is it true you will be gone soon?" I ask.

About that-

Blaze and my connection is broken short when I get doused in water.

"Are you trying to set the mountain on fire?!" Sheldon is raging. "Here we are, worried about you, just for us to find you sitting here smugly while looking in your lap! Do you know how hard it is to fight a fire without Olive?"

"Oi! I wasn't being smug! Blaze taught me something just now." I bellow back.

Sheldon huffs and swints her eyes at me. She then sticks her nose up in the air and turns to walk away.

"At least the fire is out and your safe." She says walking away.

"Thank you for caring." I yell at her back. I turn to the others bowing my head. "I'm sorry for the scare. My emotions got carried away and I will do everything in my power not to let that happen again."

"We're just glad you're alright. Right everyone?" Maddie asks everyone as she walks up from behind me.

"It was scary that's for sure." Amaya says.

"But now you seem to be able to have more control over fires now." Kem states.

"Good job on your training!" Maddie says.

Maddie's tail is too fast for me to react. She misses my back and whacks me in the head. Here comes the blackness.

■🐉■

That earth dragon got us again.

That she did. It's going to leave a bruise too.

Still a cry baby.

Oh shush. Now that we have nothing to do and it's later you going to talk to me more about this blessing?

You told me to shush so maybe I won't.

Don't be grumpy with me right now. Sonja says you're going to die?

Well I have been feeling myself slip into darkness everytime you get stronger. That's what's supposed to happen though.

So you're fine just dieing? What about everyone else? They will be devastated.

Pretty sure that will be just a you thing.

...

Alright alright. Ragon, I was old, still am, but I never had kids to leave my legacy behind to. You came along and gave me hope for the future. So I did what needed to be done to help insure that future. If I had known about the cry baby thing I might have second guessed myself but here we are. I blessed you with my powers to bring down Gilton and Tundra. Once you have all of my powers and I'm gone you will have enough strength to take them on.

... I refuse to get stronger. If getting stronger means you die then I refuse!

We all have to die kid.

That doesn't mean it has to be soon! I want you to watch all of us grow up. Especially Pearl!

[A small sniffle is heard from a large dragon.]

Are you crying?

...No...

*Sigh* you are too.

Shut it! Besides is impossible to not get stronger. Sadly, this may be one of the last times we get to talk.

What?!

You will get stronger and you won't be able to hear me but know that I am always with you.

A red claw comes out of the darkness and touches my stomach where I feel Blaze's fire burn inside me. The flame burns just a little hotter as I cry out his name.